


Allergic to Tickles?

by sarahgirl1998



Category: Happy Tree Friends
Genre: Allergies, Comedy, Female Sneezing, Gen, Humor, Hurt/Comfort, Sneezing, Tickling
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-11
Updated: 2020-03-11
Packaged: 2021-03-01 23:42:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,594
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23815579
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sarahgirl1998/pseuds/sarahgirl1998
Summary: Sniffles discovers an unusual secret about Flaky when it comes to tickling.
Kudos: 3





	Allergic to Tickles?

It was a lovely day in the forest where the Happy Tree Friends lived. Sniffles was sitting on the couch in the living room of his house, and next to him was his friend Flaky, who had been visiting him at the time.

“So Flaky, have you found a cartoon show that you can watch every episode of without becoming scared yet?” Sniffles wanted to know.

“Actually, no,” Flaky replied. “I didn’t realize how many episodes of so many series could freak me out...”

“Don’t worry, I’m sure you’ll find your match soon.” Sniffles smiled reassuringly at her, and she smiled at him in return.

Just then, Sniffles got an idea and his eyes lit up. He looked back over at Flaky and changed the subject.

“Hey, Flaky, I have a question,” said Sniffles.

“Yeah? What is it?”

“Are you ticklish?” Sniffles wanted to know.

Flaky didn’t respond at first. After about a minute of letting this sink in, she just looked away and blushed as she rubbed the back of her neck with her hand.

“I’m really not sure...”

“Ah, it’s alright,” Sniffles said. “But you know how much I love tickling my friends, don’t you?”

Flaky nodded. Indeed, she knew; she had seen Sniffles tickle some of her friends - like Lumpy and Nutty - a few times before.

“And besides, just one little tickle couldn’t hurt.”

“Yeah, I guess you have a point,” Flaky replied.

She pulled her legs up onto the couch and sat where she was, her feet sticking out. Sniffles smiled, reached into his pocket and pulled out a feather. Then, as gently as he could, he began to tickle Flaky’s feet with it.

But Flaky’s reaction was unlike any other time he’d tickled his friends.

She didn’t laugh; instead, her eyes widened, and her pupils shrunk until they could barely be seen. Her nose twitched, and then her nostrils began to flare up slightly.

“Flaky?” Sniffles raised an eyebrow in curiosity. “Are you alright?”

“Ah, hah...” Flaky replied, tilting her neck back as her eyelids lowered. Within seconds, her inhales began to grow more dramatic. “Aaaaah... Haaaaaaaah...”

Sniffles winced in surprise and fear as he realized what was going to happen. Flaky was going to sneeze. He pulled the feather away from her feet and looked on in disbelief.

“AaaaaaaaaAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH--“ Flaky gave a massive climactic breath, her nostrils flaring as widely as they could be, and then gave a loud, explosive sneeze that was as loud as one of her screams. “CHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!!!!!”

Every room in Sniffles’ house shook as Flaky shot her upper body forwards, with a good amount of spray being released from her mouth. Sniffles flinched in horror - that was one of the biggest sneezes he’d ever heard. He didn’t know that Flaky was even capable of sneezing like that.

Flaky recovered from her sneeze, but she had bags underneath her eyes, and her nose was now a bright red shade. She sniffled loudly, bringing her forefinger up to rub her poor nose a few times.

“Oh, my...” Sniffles said to himself. “Gesundheit, Flaky!”

“Thank you...” Flaky’s voice sounded a bit different than what Sniffles was used to hearing; it sounded like she was a little congested. “Ugh.”

“Are you feeling alright?” Sniffles asked, but Flaky shook her head.

“I think I may be coming down with something,” said Flaky.

As she took another audible sniff and continued to rub her nose, Sniffles reached over and placed his hand on her forehead. It didn’t feel warm.

“You’re not running a fever,” Sniffles stated, “but I can tell you’re having an allergic reaction.”

Flaky nodded in agreement. Sniffles handed her a tissue, which she blew her nose into.

“I’ve heard of pollen allergies, and dust allergies, but you? I’d say you’re allergic to being tickled.”

“Really?” Flaky sniffled again as she rubbed and wiped her nose with her tissue.

Sniffles nodded. “I can’t believe it myself. But nobody I’ve ever known has sneezed from having their feet tickled with a feather before. It’s supposed to make them laugh.”

“Is that bad?”

“I’d say so, but I consider it more as a highly unusual allergy,” Sniffles went on. “If one tickle anywhere outside the nose can make you sneeze, we should take care not to let anything else tickle you.”

“In the meantime, you look like you could use some rest.”

Sniffles stepped off the couch. He walked away from Flaky for a moment, and then returned with a blanket. He lay it over Flaky’s upper body as she lay down on the couch, sniffling here and there.

“That being said,” Sniffles continued, “I only tickled one part of your body with a feather. I wonder what would happen if I tickled you somewhere else, without my feather...”

“I hate to do this, Flaky, but I’m going to tickle you once more.” He pulled down Flaky’s blanket and stroked one of her sides very gently with his forefinger.

Flaky winced as she felt another tickle in her nose, but the sneeze that followed wasn’t nearly as strong as her first one. “Tchew!”

“Oh!” Sniffles pulled his forefinger away in surprise, but then giggled a bit. That sneeze had sounded cute.

“Ah-chew! Hah-tchew! Aaaah-chyew!” Flaky gave three more quick, mild sneezes. Then she pulled her blanket back over her body and rubbed her nose again with her forefinger.

Sniffles gave another giggle, having enjoyed those sneezes as well. “Bless you, Flaky. And I’m sorry - that was purely experimental.”

“It’s okay.” Flaky gave another sniffle, still rubbing her nose. “But it’s probably for the best that you don’t tickle me any more...”

Sniffles nodded in agreement, and then handed her a box of tissues. Flaky blew her nose again, then wiped it cutely as she held one of the tissues in her hand.

“Not to worry. You’ll feel better in a few hours,” Sniffles reassured his friend. “Or perhaps in a few days. Either way, I’ll stay by your side and make sure you’re as comfortable as possible.”

Flaky smiled a bit. “Thank you, Sniffles.” She sniffled once more.

“Would you like some tea?” Sniffles asked. “It’ll help clear your nose, if not make it any less sensitive.”

“Some tea would be nice, thank you.” Flaky rubbed her nose again, this time with the side of her hand.

Sniffles smiled at her and headed into the kitchen to make Flaky her tea. While she waited, Flaky sniffled and rubbed her nose a few times. She was acknowledging the fact that she couldn’t be tickled, because she was allergic... It wasn’t going to be easy to get used to. But at least Sniffles was there to sympathize with her and help her feel better.

After a few minutes, Flaky’s tea was ready. Sniffles poured it into a mug and brought it into the living room before he handed it to Flaky. She took a few sips of it, sighing each time she swallowed the warm beverage.

“How is it, Flaky?” Sniffles asked.

“This is really good,” Flaky replied with a grateful smile. “Thank you for making this for me.”

“As long as it makes you feel better.” Sniffles smiled as well.

A couple of minutes passed, and Flaky was now done with her tea. She handed the mug back to Sniffles, who briefly headed back into the kitchen to put the mug in the dishwasher. When he returned, he could see Flaky yawning and rubbing her eyes cutely.

“Looks like someone could use a nap.” Sniffles giggled lightly, and then went over to help Flaky off the couch. “Why don’t you come up to the guest room and sleep in there?”

Flaky smiled as she sniffled again, the idea making her feel a bit more comfortable. As she and Sniffles made their way up to the guest room, she thanked him once more.

“Thank you, Sniffles. And one more thing, if any of the other Tree Friends come over to visit me,” she started, “could you remind them not to tickle me?”

“Don’t worry, I will,” said Sniffles. “I just hope they’re not too surprised when I tell them you’re allergic to being tickled. But I’ll explain it to them, help them understand. I promise.”

Now they were in the guest room, where a big and cozy bed waited in the corner. Flaky walked over to it, stepped in and lay down on it. Sniffles went over to her and tucked her in, lending her the blanket he’d gotten from the living room.

“Feel better, Flaky,” he whispered to her.

Flaky’s eyelids began to fall, and before long, she had drifted off to sleep. Sniffles smiled and made his way out of the guest room as quietly as he could.

As he spent the rest of his evening without Flaky, he made a reminder to himself to work on a potion that would cure her tickling allergy. It probably wouldn’t be easy to make, and she probably didn’t even like being tickled, but Sniffles hoped it would happen someday. He hadn’t intended on making her feel sick; he just wanted to have some fun with her and hear her laugh.

Someday, he hoped, he could tickle Flaky without having to deal with her allergy. It was unquestionably one of the most unique allergies anyone in this forest had ever had, and it was going to take him some time and research before he could figure out how to manage it. Not that Sniffles minded doing research, of course, as long as it meant solving his friend’s problem as soon as he could.


End file.
